Dark Celebration Page 0,24

paintball game," Skyler said, continuing walking toward the cabin. "It was Josef's idea and should be fun, but Josh and I can't shapeshift and neither can the other children. I told Francesca we need rules. Like no shifting and no communication between the males; otherwise, they have too big of an advantage, don't you think so?"

Leaves rustled again, just a whisper of sound. A twig broke. Alexandria turned her head toward the sound. "There's no wind. Something or someone is moving in the trees just to our left, Skyler. I think we should take to the air. I thought I glimpsed a wolf again through the trees. He was quite large, and moving at our pace, but it could have been my imagination."

"Well, then, we're both imagining the same thing," Skyler said, moving closer to Alexandria. "I sometimes can feel things near. Let me just..."

"No!" Alexandria said sharply. "You have no way of knowing if it is a friend-or monster. If you open your mind, you might lead him right back to you. I've called Aidan to us and he is sending Gabriel as well." She spoke as Skyler stepped into another ice-covered puddle. The crunch was loud in spite of the snowflakes, and muddy water spurted out in a long spray.

A shadow fell across the snow, a dark stain looking all too familiar to Alexandria. An arm reaching-stretching obscenely-growing as if made of rubber. Insubstantial-shadow only-yet she could see it reaching toward Skyler, slithering over the rocks and through the shrubbery like a snake. If it hadn't been snowing she would never have seen, but with the white background, the fingers of the hand appeared bony and gnarled, an old hand with talons for fingernails.

To her horror, the dirty water from the puddle moved as well, ringing a tall tree like a dark noose, cutting into the trunk as if it were a garrote.

"Skyler!" Alexandria leapt forward even as Skyler instinctively jumped back. The tree splintered and cracked, the earth rocking beneath them. Alexandria could have dissolved into vapor, but she refused to leave the teenager exposed. She hurtled herself at the girl, intending to use her blurring speed to sweep them both to safety, but the shifting ground split, taking Skyler from her grasp. The best she could do was shove Skyler as far from her as possible, hoping to keep her from being smashed by the tree toppling down.

Even as the tree trunk groaned and splintered and the earth rolled, there was a terrible sound as the tree broke in half, knocking the top from the tree and driving the large, heavy branches straight down on them. Alexandria felt the blow to her head, the branch that picked her up and swept her down with alarming force. For one moment she thought she heard voices murmuring in a foreign language quite close, but she couldn't make out what they said. She tried to turn her head, to see where Skyler was, but the movement brought on pain, a haze of stars that faded away to leave a black, yawning void.

"Alexandria?" Skyler tried valiantly to control the tremble in her voice. Gabriel! Francesca! She called her family to her, a shattering cry that swept across the night. They're coming. She was pinned down under a heavy branch, her legs trapped, one hurting so much she had to fight back nausea.

Baby. We are coming. Hold on. That was Gabriel, his voice strong and vibrant, a rock to lean on.

You're hurt. Francesca's tone was gentle and soothing. Tell me how bad.

They were trying to reassure her, distract her, but Skyler felt danger surrounding her, pressing in on her with a suffocating presence. Her leg was bleeding, spilling bright red

blood across the snow. If she moved, bones rubbed together with excruciating pain, radiating through her entire body until she broke out in a sweat.

Something moved in the bushes quite close to her. She couldn't turn around to see what was creeping up on her. Hot breath exploded on the back of her neck and she cried out, trying to fling herself out of reach. Fur brushed her face as a huge wolf pushed through the maze of branches to inspect her wound.

Skyler froze, held her breath as the animal turned to look at her. The eyes were a brilliant ice-blue, startling in the midst of thick black fur. "I know you," she whispered aloud, her heart in her throat. "I've seen you before, haven't I?"

The wolf shifted. The heavily muscled, furred